There's absolutely nothing in there from New England. "There's absolutely nothing in my garden that originated within 1,000 miles of my house," he says. He was walking outside the hospital on a freezing New England. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that almost nothing we consider locally grown was, in fact, native to the Americas. Mann has been troubled by a realization that struck him just after his daughter was born. Mann writes about the changed world after Columbus' voyage in 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, a sequel to his 2006 pre-Columbian history, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. "And this underlies a huge amount of history learned in schools: the Industrial Revolution, the Agricultural Revolution, the rise of the West - all of these are tied up in what's been called the 'Columbian exchange.' " "It was a tremendous ecological convulsion - the greatest event in the history of life since the death of the dinosaurs," says Mann. When Columbus crossed the Atlantic in 1492, his journey prompted the exchange of not only information but also food, animals, insects, plants and viruses between the continents. "In fourteen-hundred-and-ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue," goes the old elementary school rhyme.īut it was Columbus' activities in the years that followed, says writer Charles C. This interview was originally broadcast on August 8, 2011. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title 1493 Subtitle Uncovering the New World Columbus Created Author Charles C.
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